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I have just acquired a new baby cornsnake from a petstore. He is malnourished, but he is alert and drinking water. There is no evidence of external parasites. Prior to purchasing the snake, I asked the petstore to feed him while I was present (at this point, I had not planned on buying him). He ate without any difficulty, but once in his new habitat, he immediately regurged the pinky mouse. I plan on attempting to feed him in three days or so (after he has had the chance to relax). Does anyone have any advice for me? I would appreciate any help.

I forgot to add, this particular snake is quite skittish. He does not attempt to strike, but he is very sensitive to changes in lighting, movement, etc. His spine is visible, though not protruding from the back. I'm worried about this baby...

The obvious advice I'd give is to not patronize pet stores that sell unhealthy animals. By doing so, you are supporting their poor business practices.

I'd also advise you not to handle the snake at all and to keep it in a low light setting for 2-3 months, until it has established a regular feeding pattern.

Although it is tempting to feed malnourished snakes often, it may take quite some time before the snake can be put on an every-3-days feeding schedule. I'd feed it every 5-7 days and then shorten the intervals between feedings if the snake doesn't regurge.

Tim

Third Eye

This past visit was the first time I had ever visited that particular store, and it was the last time I will visit that store. The employees knew very little about cornsnakes - one of them actually asked me if the baby was big enough to eat mice!

I hope that is a pic of another snake you have.
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3.2 Corn (Butter-Sunflower '07/Anery Stripe-Ripple '06/Amber-Jack Straw '06/Snow-Casey Jones '06/Amel Motley-Cosmo '03)
0.1 Baird's Ratsnake (Sugaree '04)
1.0 White Oaks Grey Rat (Tennesse Jed '04)
0.1 IJ Carpet Python (Cassidy '04)
1.0 Western Hognose (Samson '05)
1.1 Shepherd mix (Dylan 8yrs, Porter 3yrs)

That's my six-year old California king who is perfectly healthy. He's about to shed in that picture. I'll post pics of the cornsnake in a week or so after he's had time to relax. He's still pretty skittish.

I'm sort of surprised no one's said this yet, but you should probably make sure that you wait ~10 days from the time your snake regurged until you try to feed it again. When you feed it again, feed it something real small like just the head of a pinky. Feed it just pinky heads for a few feedings until it's kept down 3-4 meals, and then slowly move it up.
Remember, a regurge is much more detrimental to your snake's health than skipping a meal. Go slow and be careful, and hopefully your snake will turn around.
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-Jaime Palma
Mad-City Constrictors

Would it be ok to feed him a very small pinky mouse?

Well, it just MIGHT be able to keep it down, but this is the very reason we say to wait a week or so, then feed a VERY small meal, like the others have said(which I totally agree with) it is PARAMOUNT that it doesn't keep regurging, this is something you cannot risk by offering too big of a meal at this point. The snake MUST be able to regain it's stomach acids/enzymes to digest properly. Also, make SURE it is kept warm enough to help with digestion(lower to mid 80's) for a while. This will ensure the snake's health steadily goes up, and not down like a rock dropped into water. This is more important than most snake owners understand.

best ragards, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it, and I'll keep you posted.

I checked on him again tonight. He's really relaxed now that he can burrow. He drank some water but didn't act as though he was dying of thirst. Here's a pic.

Thanks for showing the pic. If you follow the advice given by previous posts, hopefully the little dude will start holding very small meals down and pull through. I wouldn't hold him at all anymore at this point, so he can chill-out and feel comfortable in his his/her new environment, this is VERY crucial to small hatchlings that they feel secure, it definitely helps promote a good feeding response and keeps them from being nervous. Give it a very small hide box on the cool side, as well as the warm side of the enclosure so it feels well hidden. This is basically just like if someone left you or me in an open field over in Iraq with absolutely no cover, and told you to feel secure, I think you'll agree that it wouldn't make you feel at ease AT ALL!..LOL! You would feel much more secure if you went into the mountains in a small cave, it is exactly the same with small hatchlings. They do MUCH better in small quarters with a place to hide.

Here is a pic of what I sometimes use as a hide box for small snakes.

Good luck!, ~Doug

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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

I have him in a critter keeper with about an inch and a half of aspen, a small water dish, and a coconut hide. He's pretty calm and doesn't appear to have any problems (other than being thin).

Thank you all for your advice!

you might want to either wrap the sides with paper and tape it or just wrap it in tape to help the snake feel secure.
as mentioned earlier i would wait at least a week after the last regurge to attempt feeding again as it needs to replenish its digestive enzymes. also you can add pedialyte to the water to give the baby some electrolytes which could help speed recovery
adam
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" a.k.a. farfrumugen "
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I might try that if it appears he's getting stressed. He went straight to the coconut hide last night and hasn't come out yet.